Exploring The Area

[Blodyn]

I must admit that I've seen little more of Manchester than is visible from the train.  I will obviously have to take the time to do more than change trains there. 

[Hugo]

That photo of the old Central Railway Station takes me back a bit.    When I used to watch Man Utd at Old Trafford I would catch a train from there and it stopped right outside the ground.  The train carriages were old and had no corridors on them but it was an ideal way of getting to the ground

[Merddin Emrys]

We had a lovely walk in Bodnant Gardens this morning, lots of colour at the moment, but the famous labernum archway is still to be fully in bloom, we'll be back next week! Well worth a visit!

[Merddin Emrys]

We went back to Bodnant again last Friday, the famous laburnum arch is fully out now, well worth a visit!

[Merddin Emrys]

We had a great weekend at the Llangollen Steam Railway, well worth a visit! It was a special transport weekend with buses and classic cars, including one of our cars  D)

Ludo will like this bus!




I love this Wickham DMU, the only one of it's kind still running!

[Hugo]

I don't know how I missed those lovely photos of Bodnant ME  I haven't been there this year so I've missed a treat again.

Liked the photos of Llangollen and Carrog too and hope to be out walking there soon.      Why can't Llandudno have a Railway Station as clean and as nice as that one?

[Ludo]

Ludo will like this bus!

Ah haaaa... yes, an old friend indeed!

[SDQ]

Ludo will like this bus!

Ah haaaa... yes, an old friend indeed!

But the wrong livery, eh Ludo?
I remember taking that very bus to Alton Towers for Rydal School summer trip just after it was painted in that livery. We travelled down with 2 deckers (the other one in the old livery with the proper dragon) and a new coach in the Crosville Wales livery. When we pulled into the park the bus spotters were chasing us down the car park trying to get pictures and were really chuffed when we were parked up in a line next to each other.

[DaveR]

I went on a bit of an expedition yesterday. My main aim was take a look around the former Ferodo factory at Caernarfon (closed since about 2006) but I thought I would also take a look at two very interesting small country estates that lie next to each other and are just along the cycle path from Ferodo.

The first mansion was called Plas Ty Coch. Both this and the sister estate next door (Plas Brereton) were bought by one man back in 2000, who had a plan to renovate both and convert into luxury hotel/restaurant etc. Unfortunately, after several million pounds were spent, the money ran out. The sad thing was that the properties were very close to completion at this time, with both mansions having been completely refurbished, rewired, reroofed, decorated etc and the extensive gardens landscaped with water features etc. So, the properties went up for sale, an investor from Liverpool bought them...and the money ran out again. This time, they didn't sell...and the vandals and thieves moved in. Both mansions have been comprehensively trashed/looted and the beautifully landscaped gardens are now just an overgrown mess.

So I wandered in off the cycle track and took a look around. Plas Ty Coch is the more interesting of the two mansions, a Gentlemans Residence from the 1800s with a large walled garden that is still full of many varieties of apples, pears etc (all currently waiting to be picked) and even grapes and dates in the relatively undamaged greenhouses. At the bottom of the landscaped grounds is a very overgrown Chinese Water Garden, complete with little bridges and various Ponds/Rills. There is also a small dock and cottage directly on the Menai Straits, accessed by a small tunnel underneath the cycle track. So, a very interesting place to look around. I can put up some more photos if anyone is interested.

After that, I headed back onto the cycle path and soon arrived at the former Ferodo factory. Incidentally, the cycle track was once the Caernarfon-Bangor railway line until it closed early in the 1970s. Shortly before arriving at the factory, I passed underneath a concrete access bridge and it was interesting to see that the bridge still had smoke deflectors fitted to the underneath to deal with the effects of smoke from steam trains. The inevitable hole in the hedge soon appeared and I just walked onto the Ferodo site. Boy, is it a big building, the size of several football pitches and totally wrecked. Sad to think that once over 1,000 men worked here and as the main employer in the area. It is now awaiting demolition and redevelopment. It was actually very eerie walking round such a big building on my own, especially with the strange noises booming out as bits of the roof moved with the wind.

After a good look around, it was time for a walk along the cycle track back into Caernarfon and a refreshing coffee on Y Maes.


Plas Ty Coch by [davidrobertsphotography], on Flickr


Plas Brereton by [davidrobertsphotography], on Flickr


Ferodo Caernarfon by [davidrobertsphotography], on Flickr

[Merddin Emrys]

Very interesting, I've driven past many times too!  A great shame to see all that work and cash wasted!

[Merddin Emrys]

Liked the photos of Llangollen and Carrog too and hope to be out walking there soon.      Why can't Llandudno have a Railway Station as clean and as nice as that one?

The difference is that a lot of love and effort from volunteers goes into these preserved railways and sadly none at all into the everyday railway buildings, sad to see, but how to pay for it?

[Blodyn]

What a shame about Plas Ty Coch and Plas Brereton.  How sad to see them going to ruin after all that work.  I'd be interested to see some more photos, Dave, do you have any of the walled garden? 

[DaveR]

What a shame about Plas Ty Coch and Plas Brereton.  How sad to see them going to ruin after all that work.  I'd be interested to see some more photos, Dave, do you have any of the walled garden?

I certainly do, there's some attached to the this post. When I visited about two weeks ago, all of the fruit was pretty much ready for picking; I understand the locals fill a shopping bag with the fruit when passing.

Press article:

" AT pounds 3.5 million the 200-year-old Plas Brereton estate on the banks of the Menai Strait at Caernarfon carries one of the weightiest price tags on the North Wales property market.

So what can you expect for that sort of money? The list is long: two Georgian mansions, set within 23 acres, a walled Victorian kitchen garden, two further walled gardens, a lodge, farmhouse, beach cottage, coach house, river frontage, private docking, grounds and outbuildings... What's more the estate has permission for use as hotels with restaurant facilities and a health club.

The main buildings are Grade II listed Plas Ty Coch and Plas Brereton. The former is a handsome house, built in 1807 and with its original windows and verandah as planning permission for eight bedroom suites together with a conference room and glassroofed 70 seat restaurant.

The food for those diners could be largely grown in the Victorian walled garden where two original glasshouses have been restored to their former glory and now grow melons and tropical fruits.

Outside the borders are stocked with fruit and flowers and there are 862 fruit trees, the largest selection in Gwynedd, including the rare Bardsey Island apple.

Plas Brereton itself is a late Georgian house. Built around 1821 and once the home of an influential banking family, it overlooks the Menai Strait with lovely views to the Isle of Anglesey. It too has planning permission for eight bedrooms, a further eight in an extension and an 80 seater restaurant.

With direct access onto the Menai Strait, a private dock capable of accommodating vessels up to 45 feet and three heavy duty deep water moorings, whether the Brereton estate becomes a commercial concern or private estate, those with a love of sailing will be amply provided for.

As will those who like to sit and watch the watery world go by: a riverside patio is capable of seating up to 450 people and with a battery of gas points is capable of supporting the area's biggest barbecue.

Plas Brereton estate is for sale at pounds 3.5m with Dafydd Hardy, Caernarfon 01286-677774. "


There's also a link here to the sales brochure from 2008. Look at the difference 4 years has made!!:
http://www.carterjonas.co.uk/property/for-sale/brochure/=BAN080041

By coincidence, the first photo below of the Chinese Watergarden I took matches up perfectly the photo from 2008 on page 3 of that brochure.

[Fester]

A very poignant set of pictures, Dave.

[Blodyn]

Thanks for those photos, Dave.  What a pity to see such beautiful gardens in such a state now.